


The Robot Who Saved Me

by Im_Not_A_Robot



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternative First Meeting, Anxiety, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Meetings, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Metonic Ship Week, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-20 05:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20669981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Not_A_Robot/pseuds/Im_Not_A_Robot
Summary: A young Sonic one day decides to test the very limits of his capabilities, running and speeding across the lands with seemingly no end, only to wound up lost having ventured too far from his familiar hometown. Lost, scared and alone in a forbidden woods with unknown dangers lurking in the dark, the young hedgehog wonders if he'll see sunlight again. A chance encounter however with a strange robot seems to change the course of his future, and Sonic remains unaware of just how much of an impact this bizarre metal look-a-like may have on him even further down the line.For Metonic Ship Week 2019Prompt: Alternative First Meeting------------------------------------------------





	The Robot Who Saved Me

A young Sonic dashed through the town, the blue streak upsetting locals as the resulting wind blew away hats, papers and knocked over market signs. The locals were typically used to the speedy hedgehog, having been a notable resident of the town for a few years now due to his reckless nature, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with his lack of consideration for those across his path.

Speed was the hedgehog's life, it was the blood that pumped through his veins, made him feel alive. He was addicted to it and never went a day without testing his limits. Today though he was really going to the extreme, not stopping for a second the entire-

"Oh Ice cream!" he came to a screeching halt, dust coughing up into the air.

An old dog stood behind the ice cream stand, lifting his glasses to squint at his customer. Sonic waved up at him, barely tall enough to look over the stand. "Hiya Gerner!" he greeted excitedly, full of energy.

The roughened canine smiled warmly "Oh, hello there Sonic. Out for another run I see?"

"You bet!" the small hedgehog smiled. "I'm gonna really go the extra mile today and see just what I'm truly capable of!" he jogged in the spot to keep up his momentum.

"Oh, I remember when I too was so full of life." the old dog chuckled. "But I find it much more fulfilling these days to bring a smile to those in need of a nice cold treat. Are you looking to get yourself another one today?"

Sonic nodded with a big grin. "Yes sir! Chocolate chip mint please!"

Gerner happily got to work. "Of course, and you know what, this one is on me today." he stated as he scooped the ice cream onto the cone and added his touch of chocolate chips before handing it to the blue speedster.

"Oh, thank you so much sir!" Sonic's eyes practically sparkled at the sweet frozen treat as he took it into his hands.

"You're very welcome Sonic, you have yourself a nice day and stay safe." the dog folded his hands upon the stand, smiling.

"Good bye sir!" he waved as he headed off to finish his ice cream.

It wasn't long after before he was once again speeding through the roads and forests. Trees bent to the sheer velocity winds, grasses tore away in the tall fields trailing his path. He zoomed over hills, grasslands, meadows, lakesides, mountains, all around the town and well beyond.

He continued long as the sun began to go down, dusk burning away, the hedgehog seemingly unstoppable as he sped along rivers and wide vistas in mere seconds. This was going to be the day where he truly discovered his limits as he ran along the coastline outside of town, pillars of sand being kicked up behind him, a whirlwind of dust through the air as the blue streak traced the lands until finally... he began to really tire.

Sonic slowed his pace as his legs began to burn after running all day long. He paused briefly to catch his breath, leaning against a tree to rest temporarily. The adrenaline began to die down in his system and all of his energy was practically spent, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Hooey.... I thought I'd never tire, who knew just how long I could keep going without rest." He chuckled as he straightened himself to fix his quills and pat off any accumulated dirt from his fur. When he finished he placed his hands on his hips, looking down at his shoes that truly proved their durability today considering they didn't look worse for wear.

He exhaled after finally his heart began to slow down from it's own racing speed and he caught his breath. He looked up to the tree in the front of him, his gaze ascending to look upon the top. His smile fell when he realized it didn't look like the typical trees around his town.

The bark was blackened and the tree had no leaves on it, branches reaching out like the legs of a spider with thorns atop. The hedgehog slowly surveyed the surrounding area... all of the trees looked like this. A quiet eerie wind howled between the dreadful vegetation as the small speedster turned in a 360 degree fashion overlooking the entire dead forest he ended up in. He doesn't recognize this place at all, where is he?

Sonic flattened his ears, noticing that nightfall had begun. He didn't even realize the sun had gone down, the sky just barely still illumated with a somber blue, only growing darker as the night sets in. Eerie noises sounded off in the distance, like pitched wails of some unknown animal. The young hedgehog held his hands close to him as his eyes darted about the ever darkening woods in fear.

He never runs in the dark, not only can he not due to lack of visibility but his parents always told him not to because it just wasn't safe to even be out after dark. But stubborn as he was and with the cold needles of terror slowly pining upon him, he dashed off in one direction while there was still some visiblity.

He zigzagged through the trees, one after the other. Halting from one direction to try another direction, and then another, and then another. Everything looked the same and he lost track on whether he ran past one spot already or not. The remaining blue of the sky faded away to an abyssal black as night completely took over. Sonic could barely see where he was going anymore, and the darkness only proved to increase his anxiety.

The hedgehog could feel himself begin to hyperventilate as tears welled in his eyes. Where's home? Where am I? How do I get out? What's out there? Am I alone? I feel like I'm being watched... were just some of the thoughts racing through the childs mind. He sniffled as he proceeded to walk in one direction, hoping that if he just kept going he would eventually, at the very least, get out of these woods.

The trees, seemingly darker than black, silhouetted faintly like walls of suffocating horror. Sonic could swear his eyes were playing tricks on him as the shapes seemed to warp in the dark, giving way to uncertain illusions of movement. Was there actually something out there?

The hedgehog continue moving, his fear growing steadily as tears consistently streamed down his face. He wanted to go home so badly, he wanted to be with his mother and father, he didn't like this at all.

Sonic cried out as he ended up tripping on a branch thet snaked up from one of the tree roots, scraping his knee from the fall. His quiet weeping grew to full out sobs as he quickly retreated back against one of the trees, his initial thought being that something tripped him on purpose, only to realize this wasn't so as he stared at the offending root.

He pressed his back against the rough thorny bark of the tree, bringing his knees to his chest as he buried his face in his arms and sobbed. He plans to just sit there and wait for the sun to come back up, or for his parents to come find him... they must be worried sick. He promised to be home by sunset.

He hiccuped through the sobs, only interrupted briefly by the growling of his stomach. He was hungry and it was cold out here at night. This felt like the worst thing that could have ever happened to him. What if a wild animal finds him? What if he gets attacked? The darkness and lack of visibility, as well as the inability to use his speed both from lack of lighting and sheer exhaustion made him feel the most vulnerable he's ever felt. He's never doing this again.

...

His breath caught in his throat at the sound of a twig snapping somewhere in the woods. He began to tremble as he continued to hide his face in his arms. Whatever was out there, if he just kept quiet and still, they can't find him... right?

The sound of a branch breaking and falling to the forest floor made him panic even more. Something was definitely out there... was it a bear? He flattened his ears, trying to hold back his crying to not alert any unwanted attention. He stayed like this for what felt like an hour. He was beginning to feel so tired, but he was too scared to sleep.

If he fell asleep now, what if something were to find him and eat him? What if there's monsters out in the woods? Sonic tried to calm his racing mind and think logically... if he just holds out until the morning, he can use the visibility to try and find his way back again. He should be well rested enough as well by then to run for long distances again and find his way back home.... but... which way did he even come from?

His sobbing seemed to settle a bit, his attention suddenly brought up by the feeling of small droplets of water landing on his head, then his arms. He curled tighter into himself as it began to rain, the water ice cold against his already shivering form. This was horrible... his fears once again consuming him. What if he dies out here from the cold?

The rain soaked through his fur down to the bone, making his socks and shoes feel soggy and uncomfortable. He tried to shuffle himself closer up against the tree for protection and shelter, but without any leaves on it, it didn't do much good. The hedgehog was trying hard to fight off his anxiety and calm down, telling himself that he'll be okay, that he'll make it to morning and that he'll see his parents again.

He thought about how he was going to explain what happened to them, how they'd make him delicious hot soup to make him feel better. And then he'd get a delicious cheesy chili dog after to enjoy, swearing to never go out for such crazy long runs again. He managed a small smile as these thoughts made him feel a bit better. But his smile immediately fell when he could swear he heard noises again over the rain.  
A snap of a twig... another falling branch... this time it sounded like it was closer. The hedgehog, whose body was cramping from his continuously tightened position, slowly lifted his head up for the first time in perhaps hours to look up at the darkness around him. His heart began to race again as his mind created shapes in the shadows.

He looked over the blanketing blackness, not really seeing anything or anyone around. But something briefly showed in his peripheral, his eyes snapping to his right in terror where he heard another snapping twig... only it sounded like it was practically right next to him. His breath shuddered as he tried not to hyperventilate and give away his position. But as soon as a pair of red glowing eyes revealed themselves from behind a tree the hedgehog went in full on panic mode.

He cried out, uncurling himself to shuffle and kick himself away from the eyes that were now staring at him. The hedgehog's breathing was erratic and tears blurred his vision as he immediately began to fear for his life. The eyes were still staring at him, but he could swear they were getting bigger as the creature began to approach him.

"N-NO Stay away!" he cried out, trying to scramble back as much as he could, but the mud made it difficult.

The creature kept walking towards him and Sonic frantically tried to get to his feet, slipping on the mud. He turned away and made a run for it, but he didn't see the tight grouping of trees in front of him and ended up running straight into them. He whipped back around to see the closer silhouette advancing still.

He pressed his back against the trees, breathing wildly in panic and fear as he cried in sheer terror. "NO, PLEASE, DON'T HURT ME!" he wailed , knowing that he was trapped.

The shape began to grow more clear as a blue tint revealed itself in the darkness, a visible sheen from the rain displaying upon the.... robot?... Yes it was some kind of robot. Sonic's terror briefly pausing as he realized that this robot looked similar to him in appearance, for what he could make out in the dark.

His fear practically dug it's claws into him again though when he snapped out of it upon realizing the robot was now standing just a few inches from him, staring down at him with a tilt of it's head. The child covered his eyes and whimpered as he curled up on himself again defensively, fully convinced that this was it. He was never going to see his parents again, he was never going to see his friends, no more running with the sun warming his back and no more ice cream.... he sobbed loudly at this.  
... Several moments seemed to pass of nothing but the sound of the rain pelting the forest floor. He peaked from his hands through blurred and teary vision just as the robot knelt down and reached it's claws to him. Sonic cried out burying his face again. "NO, PLEASE!" he sobbed bracing himself for pain.

But no pain came to him. Instead he flinched when a cold, metal hand laid gently upon his head.

... He remained still, petrified for the longest time before he gained the courage to lift his gaze, red eyes meeting his own. The robot didn't do anything further than tilting it's head again at the blue child. Sonic sniffled, still afraid and trembling. It wasn't until the hand on his head began to pet him in a calming manner that the hedgehog pieced together that this robot wasn't going to hurt him and that he was safe.

The small child quickly leaped to the robot, hugging the mech for comfort and sobbing profusely; finally someone had found him. He thought he was going to perish out here.

The robot seemed shocked at the act, pausing in confusion and uncertainty as to what to do, but eventually lowered it's arms to hug the young speedster in return, patting the hedgehog's back as if to tell him it was all right. The robot had increased it's system core's energy to raise it's internal temperature, keeping the young mobian from freezing.

Sonic was sobbing and crying with seemingly no end, completely filled with relief as he enjoyed the comfort of safety and warmth after so many gruelling hours of freezing temperatures and fear. He sniffled as he leaned back, the robot releasing the hedgehog from the hug to look down at him.  
Sonic wiped away the tears in his eyes trying to find his voice again. "I- *sniff* I need to go home... can you take me there please? It's... *sniff* it's in the valley... " he tried to calm himself down, his body still trying to realize that everything was okay now.

The red eyes continued to look at Sonic as if processing the information. It looked up from the mobian to survey the surrounding area, using it's sensors to indicate direction via it's internal compass. He then met the gaze of the child once again before he carefully wrapped his arms around Sonic and lifted him up.

The hedgehog clung to the metal shoulderplates of the mech, hoping he'll get home as soon as possible; he was so hungry. Sonic didn't expect, however, for the sound of a whirring motor powering up just behind the robot, and he hardly had time to react before they started to ascend quickly into the air.

"You-... You can fly?" he stated in amazement as he quickly looked over his surroundings, the silhouettes of the trees shrinking beneath him.

The robot continued to rise in the air, higher and higher until it was well beyond the forest ceiling with the massive landscape revealed before them. Sonic's eyes fell upon the black blanket below, not realizing just how huge the forest was. There was no way he would've found a way out on his own, he couldn't see any end to it.

A rush of wind ghosted sharply through the speedsters quills as the robot, stilling holding him to his chest, sped off with speeds that seemed incredibly to match his own.

Sonic's eyes sparkled in awestruck at the sheer velocity of the robot. "I thought I was the fastes thing alive!" he called out over the wind in amazement. "You're as fast as I am!" a big grin covered his face, never believing he'd ever find anyone or anything that could be on par with him. The robot's eyes shifted downward to look at the hedgehog, some beeping noises of approval sounding from some unknown source before the red eyes shifted back up in search of the town.

They soared over the night sky, Sonic eventually shifting in the robots grasp to splay himself belly down, holding out his arms and legs as if he was the one flying. "This is so cool!" all sadness, despair and fear had vanished from his mind as he was filled with nothing but excitement and wonder over just how fun it was to fly.

They eventually crossed through to the end of the dark forest, reaching the fields and meadows, the moon peaking out from the clouds to illuminate the grasslands of crops and flowers. Sonic pointed out in the distance. "There, I think those are the lights of my town!" a small speck of light was just barely visible over the hills.

The robot veered towards it and sped off at greater speeds. They crossed the local farmlands and lush summer trees, the rain having stopped a while ago. It was thanks to the robots generated heat that the hedgehog didn't freeze to death from the winds drying off his fur. The lights loomed closer and closer until they could make out the thatched rooftops of houses, windows still lit from occupied homes in the night.

It was several minutes before the robot deemed they were close enough for the hedgehog to get there safely. They landed just upon a hill at a treeline, overlooking the town. The mech gently placed the hedgehog back down onto the ground. Sonic looked to the familiar town before him, filled to the brim with so much relief and happiness; finally he was home.

He turned around to thank the robot, only to be surprised in finding that it was no longer standing with him. He looked up to the sky in shock as the robot seemed to hover in the air with some form of device in hand. Some sort of portal seemed to open up, a purple abyss inside of unknown origin. Sonic has seen such strange things before, but he had no idea what this one was. He watched as the robot hesitated in front of it for only a moment before it flew directly into the anomaly, the portal closing behind it as it disappeared completely out of sight.

Sonic continued to stare at the sky where he last saw it. A small smile creeping onto his face again. "... Thank you." he spoke out to the night air, wondering just who that robot was, where it came from and how it found him. Nonetheless he was grateful it did.

He turned to his town and not a second later dashed off towards it, eager to return to his parents and tell them all about the robot that saved him.


End file.
